Why the movie industry is failing, the sequel

Last December, I wrote an entry on why the movie industry is failing. Perhaps I should have written why it is failing ‘us’. Ironically, here’s the sequel to that entry. Tonight, the kids and I went and saw Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man’s Chest. They should have simply called it, Pirates of the Caribbean, Let’s Milk as Many Movies out of this as We Can.

The effects in the movie were incredible and the movie was entertaining. However, without spoiling it for everyone, the ending left every door open for the next movie. In short, I watched 160 minutes of a movie with no end. No end! Not one!!! I even sat through the credits to watch the cute little scene at the end and was dissappointed by that. (Technically, that left yet another portion of the plot unended).

Sorry, Disney! You blew it. I’ll be waiting for Pirates Part III on video. You really should be ashamed of yourselves.

What does this have to do with marketing? The parallels are similar to a conversation my colleague, Pat Coyle, started on his blog regarding advertising, marketing, and culture. Pat states, “we can use those stories to tell people what they want to hear, and get their money in exchange for a temporary feeling of fulfillment. Thatâ?’s not a business I want to be in.”

Movies are an exception to this rule… we really are paying for that temporary feeling of fulfillment. However, the word fulfillment is a reference to a conclusion or end. Imagine if you don’t even get the temporary feeling of fulfillment. In that case, the goal is to deceive the consumer and strictly to get their money. That’s what discouraged me about this film. The goal of the film was not simply to make more money than it took to make the film, it’s goal is to also to leave me unfulfilled so I spend more money on the next film, too!

It used to be that cinemas were emberassed at writing a sequel or doing a re-make. Now it’s all part of the business of movie-making. We’ve lost focus on the ‘art’ and have been swallowed up by the merging of infomercials and movies. At least most informercials have a money-back guarantee. It’s too late for the money I ponied up for this movie.

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